For the second week running, Daniel Sturridge proved the difference , scoring high into the net after a superb dummy from Philippe Coutinho.

And for the second week running, Simon Mignolet kept a clean-sheet with some impressive goalkeeping; most notably his late save to deny Christian Benteke.

It may be getting repetitive, but Liverpool fans won’t mind. Incisive finishing at one end and great goalkeeping at the other – helped by the excellent defensive marshalling of Kolo Toure – means Brendan Rodgers’ side haven’t missed the suspended Luis Suarez in the slightest.

Speaking after the game, Rodgers was quick to commend his side and encourage them to continue their fine early form.

“The mentality of the group is to win together,” he said. “That is important. We have to keep it going.

“We didn’t have a good start at all last year. Since the turn of the year we’ve been getting better and better.”

That is undeniable, and I will whisper it in case Reds fans get nervous, but they may be viable title contenders if Suarez performs to his ability and the club brings in a couple more players before the transfer window closes.

However this is the same paper who only last week published quotes from the player saying he had no intention of going anywhere. So we think the latest story should be taken with a sizeable pinch of salt.

Other transfer news relating to Liverpool this weekend can be read in our Saturday report here. In it we look at Arsenal’s about-turn regarding Suarez’s future and a possible €7million bid for Sporting Lisbon’s Tiago Ilori.

Vincent Ralph

After graduating with a degree in English Literature, Vincent completed a NCTJ-accredited qualification in newspaper and magazine journalism in 2005. He has worked for HITC for four years and is now Head of Editorial and Journalist Standards.